


So Alike, Were They

by LizzyLovesPink



Series: Sagittarius Birthday One-Shots [7]
Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Angst, Atmospheric, Body Horror, But still very much a corpse?, Canon Compliant, False Identity, Foreshadowing, Gen, Horror, Is it 'Major Character Death' if he's revived?, Major Spoilers, Manga Spoilers, O!Ciel's Name is Cedric, One Shot, Pre-Canon, birthday fic, sibling relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:07:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27758125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizzyLovesPink/pseuds/LizzyLovesPink
Summary: A year after the incident, two Earls celebrate their birthday in entirely different circumstances.
Relationships: Ciel Phantomhive & Real Ciel Phantomhive, Real Ciel Phantomhive & Undertaker, Sebastian Michaelis & Ciel Phantomhive
Series: Sagittarius Birthday One-Shots [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1997080
Comments: 1
Kudos: 14





	So Alike, Were They

A year since the incident. 

The mansion he lived in now was a perfect replica of the mansion from back then; originally it even had a master bedroom and a large bedroom where everything came in pairs, but he froze and nearly cried, storming away. 

The next day, the offending rooms were removed. 

The winter snow blew around the outside, howling and coating everything in freezing white. Once upon a time, he would've loved to look out the window and see his older brother have a snowball fight with Elizabeth, laughing and giggling as Edward read a book in the garden as both pairs of parents watched close by, smiling. But that was a long time ago, before all this happened. When he was still Cedric, not Ciel. 

"Did you know today is your birthday?" Sebastian asked him that morning over breakfast. Ciel picked at his food; Sebastian was getting better at cooking but it still wasn't perfect. He also had a bad chill he caught that night but was trying to work through it anyway. His older brother never got sick, was never struck down by moments of weakness like he was. He needed to work harder at that. 

"Why does it matter?" Ciel snapped, slicing the toast super hard and making pieces fly everywhere. "I never want to think about my birthday ever again," 

Sebastian said nothing, only nodded. "More toast?" 

"No," Ciel pushed the food away and stood up, walking through the mansion. The halls were silent. Sebastian is the only servant he'd ever need, Ciel assumed. He was good at basically everything. He paused near a window and looked through it, seeing the grounds doused in white. 

Would there ever come a time again when he would be able to be happy, running through the grounds with Elizabeth again? With close friends of his? His brother always found those activities juvenile and stupid, but Cedric had a secret love of playing and games. It's why he wanted to open his own toy store, so he could make every child happy. 

He suddenly shivered, hugging himself from the cold weather. Was there some kind of draft somewhere he was unaware of? 

In the window's reflection, he could see himself; small, pale, one eye rendered useless under the eyepatch he had to wear constantly, a few bandages scattered around his body, baggy clothing to hide the wounds and thin figure and just overall appearance. He turned away and walked off, not wanting to see his appearance anymore. 

When he returned to his bedroom, he found a small slice of chocolate cake on his nightstand next to a glass of warm milk. Curious, he took a sip from the milk and widened his eyes when he realized it had been mixed with honey. Even his older brother cautioned him about drinking too much so he didn't ruin his teeth, but he wasn't around anymore. He took a big gulp of the drink and set the empty cup down, taking a bite out of the cake. 

It was double-chocolate, with chocolate frosting and batter and decorations. Rich too, so he knew he had to slowly eat it. 

Once the cake was gone, he covered his mouth and laid back in bed, shivering slightly from the chill he received. He slept semi-soundly that night, being tucked in by Sebastian who also took the empty dishes away. 

"Your birthday is an important event, Young Master. I just want to see you at your fullest," Sebastian said to himself as he left the room. "Glad that my cooking was finally satisfactory to you," 

()()()()()()()()()()

A year since the incident. 

Ciel had been let out of the tank for only the second time since he had been rescued; it was hard standing up still so he was seated nicely beside the window, sitting up as straight as he could manage as he looked outside. The snow fell heavily and he was suddenly reminded of those lazy winter days spent with Lizzy, building snowmen and pelting each other with snowballs. He frowned a bit. 

"I know you shouldn't be out, but seeing as today is a special day, I just couldn't help myself!" His mysterious rescuer, who introduced himself as Undertaker, exclaimed. Ciel just continued to look out the window. 

The Undertaker's shop stank of embalming fluid and dead corpses and musty dust, and the lights in the backrooms were hardly ever kept on, leaving Ciel to believe even now he was still kept in a tomb. The window's reflection caught his noble features of blue and black, the long white shirt he wore all the time now, the dried blood and unhealed wounds that littered his body, and the bluish pallor of his skin. 

He suddenly wondered what became of his younger brother. Did he survive? Was he somewhere in London, finally opening that toy shop he dreamed of, under an alias? Did he reunite with the Midfords? Ciel smiled a bit at the thought. His younger brother deserved only the best, after all. After all the suffering and torture they had to endure, it was only fair. He wanted his younger brother to be happy. 

"I got this for you! The best quality I could find for an heir like you," Undertaker walked back in with a plate and a cup, placing them in Ciel's lap. "Eat quickly but not too quickly. You have to go back inside soon," 

Ciel waved him away and looked at the food; a slice of strawberry cake with giant strawberries on top alongside a glass of cold milk. He smiled even more. 

It was his birthday. Which meant it was also his younger brother's birthday. Where-ever he was, was he celebrating it too? 

"If only you could be here..." He smiled to himself as he slowly raised his hands up to try and eat; they shook and shivered but he managed to get several bites and a sip in his mouth until they jerked and shoved the food onto the floor. 

"That's enough of that!" Undertaker said, racing right over as Ciel began to collapse. He felt dizzy and lightheaded and couldn't feel his legs anymore. He wasn't even sure if the food was actually swallowed or if it fell out of his mouth. That happened the last time he tried to eat; the food fell out of his mouth while the liquid traveled further before dripping out of the wound in his chest. 

"L-Let me have a-another moment...it's a-a special day a-and...I want to wish my brother a happy birthday too..." He smiled weakly. "It's only f-fitting since now I'm an invalid just like h-him," 

"Not today! You have to go back inside!" The Undertaker laughed as he caught Ciel, ignoring his weak struggles. "Back inside you go!" 

He didn't want to. He didn't want to go back inside that tomb again, shut-off from the remainder of the world as this man did God knows what to his body. His chest felt warm as blood trickled from the reopened wound there, but he cared little. Maybe if he died again...well, he wouldn't be able to see his brother ever again, which is what he really wanted. 

The Undertaker laid him down flat inside the casket and placed a strawberry in his mouth, shutting it securely. Ciel instantly felt lulled by the chemicals inside and closed his eyes, falling asleep to await more of the healing process. The Undertaker patted the top of the casket and cleaned the food mess up. 

"Your birthday's a special day, so special I just had to do something! Forgive my over-zealousness! And I'm sure where-ever the other one is, he's thinking about you just as much. Sleep well, young Phantomhive," With that, he left the room.


End file.
